The Worlds of Wodehouse in Words and Music | Stephen Fry, Hal Cazalet and Simon Beck, Anish Gawande

Описание: The Worlds of Wodehouse in Words and Music
Stephen Fry, Hal Cazalet and Simon Beck in conversation with Anish Gawande

In a 1961 essay, Evelyn Waugh famously described the fictional world of P. G. Wodehouse as a kind of Eden, a timeless paradise untainted by the Fall of Man. He wrote that, “In Wodehouse's world, characters have never tasted the forbidden fruit. They are still in Eden." For Waugh, the gardens of Blandings Castle represented "that original garden from which we are all exiled."

The written word was a happily intoxicating plaything for P. G. Wodehouse. He continues to be hugely popular with an English readership in India that spans generations. How and why do his idyllic world and linguistic style cross notions of class and culture? In The World of Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, actor Stephen Fry, step-great-grandson of P. G. Wodehouse and British tenor Hal Cazalet and Pianist Simon Beck perform some highlights from his work in words and music, with Anish Gawande.

Stephen Fry is an English actor, writer, poet, comedian, television presenter, and film director. Notable acting roles include his award-winning performance in Wilde, his iconic projects with Hugh Laurie including ‘A Bit of Fry and Laurie’, ‘Jeeves and Wooster’ and ‘Blackadder’, and his memorable turns in blockbuster projects ‘V for Vendetta’, the ‘Sherlock Holmes’ films and ‘The Hobbit’ series. His recent television credits include ‘The Dropout’ and ‘The Sandman’. Stephen’s recent European feature film ‘TREASURE’ had its world premiere at this year’s Berlinale. As a proudly out gay man, the award-winning ‘Out There’, is part of his thirty-year advocacy of the rights of the LGBT community.

Hal Cazalet’s Play on Words pays homage to his step–great-grandfather P.G. Wodehouse, celebrating Wodehouse’s early Broadway career as the first lyricist of the American musical. The show has travelled from London’s West End to the USA and on tour across the UK. A Juilliard graduate and Shoshana Foundation Award winner, Hal has created leading roles in world premieres by Philip Glass, Roxanna Panufnik and Tod Machover, performing at major venues including Santa Fe Opera, Lincoln Center, BAM and the Kennedy Center. UK credits include ENO, Glyndebourne GTO, Opera North and Wigmore Hall. He also composed the musical adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince.

Simon Beck has most recently collaborated on a series of legacy concerts, including Lorna Luft celebrating her mother, Judy Garland (The Pheasantry, London); Hal Cazalet celebrating his step-great-grandfather, P.G. Wodehouse (Crazy Coqs, London; India tour 2023; Wilton’s Music Hall, London; UK tour); and Liz Robertson celebrating her late husband, Alan Jay Lerner (The Pheasantry, London, and album release).

Anish Gawande is a politician, writer, and art-world troublemaker. Based between Mumbai and Delhi, he is the National Spokesperson of the NCP (SP) and the founder of Pink List India, the country’s first archive of politicians supporting LGBTQ+ rights. A Rhodes Scholar with degrees from Columbia and Oxford, he writes, translates, and curates at the intersections of literature, politics, and contemporary South Asian art.

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